I can’t imagine the emotional turmoil this kid was going through when he stepped on the ice for this game. It was great to see him bury the game winner, and all of the support he’s gotten from the hockey community at large. It really is a big family.

I’ve enjoyed a lot of the Players Tribune articles and videos. This one is obviously of particular interest because of my work with John. This is a very well-articulated vantage point of what it takes to succeed as an under-sized or otherwise disadvantaged athlete. The key, I believe, to John’s success is that he took every “set back” as a challenge, which fueled him to work even harder to get better. This is highlighted by the quote:

“I was going to force people to ignore my size because of my production.” – Johnny Gaudreau

Image from Mark Zaleski/AP at http://www.calgarysun.com

Sometimes people tell you that you can’t accomplish something because they’ve never seen it before. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

This is a quick read, but a great display of character from Daniel Sedin. The support staff as a whole arrives before and leaves after the players. The job requires exceptionally long selfless hours, and despite what you may think, many are severely underpaid. Great gesture here.

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“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with” – Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Kevin Neeld Knows Hockey

Kevin has rapidly established himself as a leader in the field of physical preparation and sports science for ice hockey. He is currently the Head Performance Coach for the Boston Bruins, where he oversees all aspects of designing and implementing the team’s performance training program, as well as monitoring the players’ performance, workload and recovery. Prior to Boston, Kevin spent 2 years as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Jose Sharks after serving as the Director of Performance at Endeavor Sports Performance in Pitman, NJ. He also spent 5 years as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with USA Hockey’s Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, and has been an invited speaker at conferences hosted by the NHL, NSCA, and USA Hockey.